Should Young Athletes Specialize?

By Craig Riotto

                Should parents push their children to specialize in one sport or embrace the well-rounded athlete?

                Rachel Sederberg, a junior at Stonehill College, said she has been playing golf for 15 years and captained her high school team to two state championships in her four years at Notre Dame High School Academy.

                “My parents started me in golf when I was six years old and now I have tendonitis in four joints,” Sederberg said. “It’s tough when you have kids who are 16 or 17 with permanent injuries from specializing in a sport too early.”

                Sederberg said that it was all worth it, however. “I wouldn’t trade my state titles for good joints. Although I’m only 21 while I’m saying this.”

                An ongoing study by Neeru Jayanthi, medical director of primary care sports medicine at Loyola University, found that young athletes with injuries—such as Sederberg— tended to have more specialized training in one sport.

                In some cases a young athlete gains a significant edge over the rest of the by specializing at a young age. But that can cause the athlete to sustain a permanent debilitating injury or experiences psychological burnout, the report said.

                Neeru advised parents, in his report, to be cautious about “intense specialization” in a single sport for youngsters. Instead, he encourages putting children in multiple sports.

                Some parents, such as Phil Sharkey, a father of two and an assistant coach for the Norton Boy’s seventh grade basketball team, share that belief.

                “At this age kids should still be playing more than one sport. It teaches them multiple skill-sets and allows them to develop into well-rounded athletes. There is no need to become a robot at age 13, where all you are capable of doing is one thing really well. I would say that high school is the right time for kids to start making that decision [to specialize] and it should always be up to the kid.”

                That sentiment is shared by members of Sharkey’s basketball team.

                “I play four sports,” said 13 year old Kyle Periera, “football in the fall, basketball in the winter and baseball and soccer in the spring. Football is my favorite but I’ve never thought about specializing in just football. The other sports keep me in shape during the offseason and they are still really fun.”

                Periera said he never had a serious injury that kept him out of athletics for an extended period of time.

                Mike Sheehan, 13, said he suffered a bad knee injury in the last game of the football season this past year, keeping him out of the first three weeks of the basketball season. “It stunk having to miss some of basketball, but I’m alright now,” Sheehan said. “I wouldn’t want to play just one sport… I think that I would get bored.”
                Zach Charbeneau, 13, would prefer to focus on one sport.
                “Baseball is my favorite sport. I'd play all year round if I could. Basketball is pretty fun too. It's probably my second favorite sport. But my goal is to get really good at baseball and eventually make the high school team,” Charbaneau said.

                Noah White, 13, said he plans to give up one sport.
                “I play four sports but I'm probably going to give up on football soon to focus more on soccer, basketball and baseball. I’m not that good at football and I don’t want what happened to Mike [Sheehan] to happen to me,” White said. “My dad said that it's my decision. I don't think he is too disappointed because he is more of a basketball guy anyway.”
                Noah’s father, the head coach of the Norton seventh grade boys’ basketball team, said he would be sad if Noah gave up football but would accept it. “If he is ready to commit to basketball and baseball then that’s his choice,” he said.

                Stonehill professor, Robert Rosenthal, put an economic spin on the debate, saying parents may be looking at potential college sports scholarships for their children. “Parents are probably becoming more and more motivated to push their children to specialize in one sport in order to keep up with the rising cost of college tuition,” said Rosenthal. “There are a lot of scholarships opportunities out there that can make college more affordable.”

                As a father, however, Rosenthal said it is still very important for the athlete to decide if and when to specialize. “If you push a child to specialize in just one sport, there is a possibility they will build resentment toward that sport,” Rosenthal said. “Then you will have an unhappy child and nobody wants that.”
                Stonehill College sophomore, Jordan Howley, said mixing it up is best. “Specializing in sports at too young of an age eliminates part of a kids childhood. You see examples of burnouts and these really talented kids, who by the time they are old enough, really don’t have a passion for the sport they are specialized in,” Howley said.

                “Playing multiple sports allows you to explore things that you may have fun with and eventually leads to deciding what you want to pursue.”

                Howley was a three sport athlete until age 15 when he decided to focus strictly on lacrosse.